


Aftermath

by lullabelle_moon



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Gen, One Shot, five minute fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 11:32:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9894677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lullabelle_moon/pseuds/lullabelle_moon
Summary: My take on what happens straight after the sentencing.





	

Robert felt numb. He barely noticed the journey from the court room. All he could see was Aaron's face, the fear in his eyes as he was walked from the dock. The quiver in his voice as he shouted back that he loved him. Robert was certain- that image was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. They pulled in to the village; Chas squeezing his hand tightly, as she tried to stem her tears. He looked out of the window; his numbness giving way to anger as he saw him standing by the cafe.  
"Stop the car."  
"Robert?"  
Cain barely had time to stop before Robert was out of the car; striding across the road with anger in his veins,  
"You!"  
Finn looked up,  
"Robert?"  
Robert looked around dramatically,  
"Where is he then?"  
Finn frowned,  
"You what?"  
Robert shrugged, ignoring the pull of the others to bring him back,  
"Just wondering where your boyfriend is? You know. The one you did all this for?"  
Finn looked uncomfortable. It just fed Robert's anger,  
"Go on then? Where is he? Hmm?"  
Finn held his hands up,  
"Look just calm-"  
"Shall I tell you where Aaron is? Shall I? Because of what you did. Because you wanted to impress someone who doesn't give a damn about you?"  
Chas tried to turn Robert,  
"Robert come on. Leave it."  
Robert shook himself free; stepping closer to Finn,  
"Come on Finn. Don't tell me he didn't want you after all? After all that? Where is he? WHERE IS HE?"  
Finn pushed him back,  
"HE DIDN'T WANT ME."  
Robert clenched his jaw,  
"He didn't want you. So what you're saying is that it was all for nothing?"  
Finn made a move to leave and Robert lost control; grabbing his shirt and slamming him up against the door,  
"ANSWER ME."  
"ROBERT!"  
Cain was holding his arms,  
"This isn't helping Aaron."  
Robert looked from him, back to Finn,  
"You're not worth it. You're worthless."  
He looked Finn up and down and sneered,  
"You're nothing."  
Finn swallowed,  
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry about Aaron...we've both lost people okay?"  
Robert couldn't control his anger then; slamming him back against the door again,  
"DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE IT. DON'T YOU DARE ACT LIKE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WAS ANYTHING LIKE MINE AND AARONS. MY HUSBAND IS IN PRISON BECAUSE OF YOU."  
He pulled his arm back; fist clenched, ready to strike, when Cain grabbed him properly and pushed him,  
"Robert, stop. Stop it."  
He cupped the back of Robert's head,  
"He's not worth you getting thrown in there with Aaron. Okay?"  
Robert clenched his jaw to the point of pain before nodding slightly,  
"Good lad."  
Robert shook himself free; jabbing a finger at Finn,  
"You stay the hell away from me."  
He stalked off, ignoring Chas's plea to return to the car; shoving his hands in his pockets he walked away, down the road, alone.

She'd felt lost before, as though she was walking on her own in a room full of people. Not like this though. She sat on the sofa, no longer caring about the tears falling down her cheeks, no longer caring what they said to her. She felt numb. The ache of Aaron not being there had started when he left that morning. It was worse now. A huge gap in the room that no amount of family members, no amount of cups of tea placed before her would fill. It was almost like one of those artistic films that Robert raved about, world spinning around a person as they stood perfectly still, lights making patterns as time went by without them even noticing. Without them even being aware that the world had moved on because they hadn't. They were stuck in that one moment. That one kind of pain. That one goodbye.   
"Where's Robert?"  
She had been wanting to ask the question ever since they came home. He wasn't there when they walked in, she'd almost had hope that he was outside with Aaron but knew it wasn't to be when she saw Chas's tears,  
"Where's Robert?"  
They hadn't answered her the first time, she presumed they'd ignored and she wondered if that would be the norm from then on.  
"I think he's upstairs. He was a bit upset."  
Belle's voice was warm, her hand covering Liv's. She hadn't noticed her come in, couldn't be sure it was with the others. Couldn't be sure she hadn't been there the whole time.   
"Shouldn't we be with him?"  
Cain spoke then,  
"I think he needed some time alone."  
That upset Chas. Liv could hear the change in her breath, she'd felt the same, the same stab of pain at the idea of Robert being alone. She'd never considered it before, he was always so confident, so happy, so smug. Not having Aaron there must be hurting him too, she figured. She stood up, moving to the kitchen with no objections and poured another cup of tea,  
"I'm taking this upstairs."  
They didn't answer her. She hated it, it felt like a wake. He's not dead. She wanted to scream it, wanted them to remember that he needed them. Instead she left the room, padding up the stairs slowly and stopping outside their bedroom. Robert's bedroom now, she guessed. Until he came home. She knocked gently,  
"Go away."  
He sounded different, his voice rough. Liv swallowed,  
"It's me."  
There was silence, Liv figured he'd ignore her too until his voice came again,  
"Come in."  
She opened the door slowly, finding the room in quiet darkness; the blinds closed to the day outside. Robert was sitting on the floor at the base of the bed; his hair a mess where he had clearly been pushing his hands through it. His eyes were red, she could see it through the dimness in the room, and around his shoulders was one of Aaron's hoodies. The black one she knew Aaron loved. Robert had bought it for him, just turned up one afternoon with presents, clothes for them both and a bag for her. She'd been suspicious until Robert had ruffled her hair and told her he was allowed to treat his little sister. She'd made a joke, told him to do one, he wasn't her brother. She couldn't even remember if she had thanked him for the clothes, a sense of guilt washed over her and she looked away before placing the tea on the floor beside him,  
"I got you a tea."  
He looked up at her,  
"Are you okay?"  
She shrugged, pulling the sleeves of her jumper over her hands; Robert's eye traveled down to them, a small smile tugging at his lips,  
"You're like him. He does that."  
Liv wiped her cheek, fresh tears tracking down them. Robert shifted slightly,  
"Stay for a bit?"  
Normally she'd laugh at him, tell him he was a loser, all she wanted in that moment though was for him to hug her. To hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay. She sat slowly, leaving a gap between them in case he didn't want her near. Her question of that was answered straight away when he put his arm around her and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly. She buried her face into his chest, the feel of his arms around her mingled with the smell of Aaron's hoodie tipped her over the edge and she burst into tears. Robert didn't give words of encouragement, he wasn't like the others, telling her to be strong and to stop crying. Instead he held her closer, buried his face in his hand, and he sobbed.

"Hi love."  
Robert thought he was alone in the place, it was late, Liv was asleep in his bed, he didn't argue it. Just let her be. The sentence was spinning through his mind, he couldn't sleep. Once the tears had gone he was left with nothing but anger, filling his body, making it impossible to relax. He'd been researching for hours, looking in to appeals, looking at lawyers and their costs, he was determined.   
"You okay?"  
He rubbed his face; suddenly back in the room with Chas looking at him, Aaron's mum, his mother in law, his responsibility now. He needed to be there for her, for Liv, for the family, the pressure was already building, he wanted to scream, wanted to run away, wanted to punch the wall until his hand was broken, suddenly understanding why Aaron needed that pain to clear his mind. He shook his head to clear the thoughts and Chas stood up,  
"Me neither. I keep waiting to hear him. To hear you and him laughing at something."  
Robert looked at her,  
"I can't do this Chas. He's the strong one. Not me."  
Chas pulled him in to a hug,  
"You can do this. You can."  
He hesitated before gripping her tightly,  
"I'm so sorry."  
He clenched his jaw as she spoke, telling him lies like it wasn't his fault, it wasn't because of him; that Aaron would be okay. That he would be home soon. Robert pulled away,  
"It's okay. I'm gonna make this better."  
She frowned at him, confusion in her eyes,  
"How?"  
Robert nodded as he rubbed her arms, suddenly desperate to give her some comfort,  
"I'm gonna get him out. I promise. I'm gonna get him home."  
He nodded at her, trying to get her to hear the words as he stepped back, everything clear in his mind and only Aaron's name in his ears. He was going to bring him back home, and he was never going to let go of him again.


End file.
